Smoking article with front-plug and method

Abstract

A smoking article for an aerosol-generating device including a heating element is provided, the article retaining an aerosol-forming substrate in fixed relation to and in contact with a cigarette paper of the article after shrinkage of the substrate, the article including cylindrical elements including a front-plug and the substrate assembled in contact with the paper forming a rod having mouth and distal ends, the substrate contacting the heating element when the plug is penetrated by the heating element via the distal end, and in which the article has a first unheated state in which the cigarette paper retains the cylindrical elements in position by an interference interaction in which the paper grips and holds the cylindrical elements within the rod, and a second heated state in which the substrate has shrunk relative to the first state and the paper retains the cylindrical elements in position by the interference interaction.

The invention claimed is: 
     
         1 . A smoking article for an aerosol-generating device comprising a heating element, the smoking article being configured to retain an aerosol-forming substrate of the smoking article in fixed relation to and in contact with a cigarette paper of the smoking article after shrinkage of the aerosol-forming substrate, the smoking article comprising:
 a plurality of cylindrical elements, including a front-plug and the aerosol-forming substrate, assembled in contact with the cigarette paper to form a rod, the rod having a mouth end and a distal end upstream from the mouth end,   wherein the front-plug is located upstream of the aerosol-forming substrate within the rod, the aerosol-forming substrate coming into contact with the heating element when the front-plug is penetrated by the heating element via the distal end, and   wherein the smoking article has two states, including:
 a first state in which the aerosol-forming substrate is unheated, and in which the cigarette paper retains the plurality of cylindrical elements in position by an interference interaction in which the cigarette paper grips the plurality of cylindrical elements and holds the plurality of cylindrical elements in position within the rod, and 
 a second state, different from the first state, in which the aerosol-forming substrate is heated and has shrunk relative to the first state, and in which the cigarette paper still retains the plurality of cylindrical elements in position by the interference interaction in which the cigarette paper grips the plurality of cylindrical elements and holds the plurality of cylindrical elements in position within the rod. 
   
     
     
         2 . The smoking article according to  claim 1 , wherein the front-plug has a length of between 1 mm and 10 mm. 
     
     
         3 . The smoking article according to  claim 1 , wherein the front-plug has a diameter approximately equal to a diameter of the smoking article. 
     
     
         4 . The smoking article according to  claim 1 , wherein the front-plug has a diameter of greater than or equal to 5 mm and less than or equal to 10 mm, and a length of between 2 mm and 10 mm. 
     
     
         5 . The smoking article according to  claim 1 , wherein the front-plug has a hole or slit defined therethrough. 
     
     
         6 . The smoking article according to  claim 5 , wherein the aerosol-forming substrate comes into contact with the heating element when the hole or slit of the front-plug is penetrated by the heating element. 
     
     
         7 . The smoking article according to  claim 1 , wherein the front-plug comprises a filter material. 
     
     
         8 . The smoking article according to  claim 1 , further comprising a filter disposed at the mouth end of the rod. 
     
     
         9 . The smoking article according to  claim 1 , wherein a material of the aerosol-forming substrate comprises processed tobacco. 
     
     
         10 . The smoking article according to  claim 1 , wherein the front-plug is configured to wipe a surface of the heating element as the heating element is withdrawn from the smoking article.